The Wrestler

Darren Aronofsky takes a detour from his usual hyper-stylized films with THE WRESTLER, a simple, but extremely effective tale of a man struggling to find himself in the world outside of wrestling. Despite several thrilling wrestling sequences (the scene with the knives and staple gun was particularly gruesome but fun), this is a character study all the way, with Mickey Rourke giving a quietly powerful performance. Much has been made of Rourke's work here, and it is easy to see why. He has created a character that is charismatic, endlessly likable, and heartrendingly lonely. Once he realizes that his body is beginning to give out, he tries to connect with those outside of wrestling, but ultimately, finds it to be more difficult and painful than he imagined it would be. I sincerely hope Rourke wins the Oscar for this.

Marisa Tomei is equally compelling as a stripper and a mother, who also struggles with coming to terms with the world of her own career and her reality--that she too is aging, and not able to do the things she used to do as well. The thing I liked most was that the parallels between these characters didn't feel contrived, and I think a big part of that goes to the screenwriter(s), who did a really great job developing these characters. I did feel that Evan Rachel Wood's character could have been developed quite a bit more, though.

All in all, this is a wonderful addition to Aronofsky's impressive line of work, and a touching, funny, and heartbreaking drama.